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Cancer cell plasticity: new insights from developmental programs
Vincent J Guen1, Robert A Weinberg2
1Inserm UMR 1307, CNRS UMR 6075, CRCI(2)NA, Nantes Université, F-44000 Nantes, France; Inserm US16, CNRS UAR 3556, SFR Bonamy, BioCore, CHU Nantes, Nantes Université, Nantes, France.
None:
Tumors represent a heterogeneous set of neoplastic diseases, each composed of an intricate network of cancer cells residing in multiple alternative phenotypic states. Transitions between these phenotypic states, often termed 'phenotypic plasticity', enable them to execute specific steps in tumor progression and to develop therapeutic resistance. The phenotypic plasticity of tumor cells is mediated, in part, by cellular processes that orchestrate normal embryonic development and are hijacked by tumors. In this review, we discuss the contributions of these developmental programs to cancer cell phenotypic plasticity. We focus on epithelial-mesenchymal transition and ciliogenesis programs and discuss new insights into the mechanistic roles of these cellular processes in cancer progression and response to treatment.
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